1. Framing the Constitution

2. We started with the Articles of Confederation: Strengths
Set up Congress as Federal Government
Gave states more power than before

3. We started with the Articles of Confederation: Weaknesses
Federal govt. could not enforce laws
Federal govt. could not levy taxes
Federal govt. could not regulate interstate trade
It required all 13 states for ratification

4. Led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787
Abraham Baldwin and William Few represented Georgia
Decided we would be a democratic republic – people choose who will govern them
Unicameral became a bicameral government (two houses) called the Senate and House of Representatives
Debate over balance of power between large and small states

5. Some states had a greater population, so this led to…
The Great Compromise – In the Senate, states would have the same number of votes; in the House of Representatives, votes would be based on the state’s population

6. But how do we count people?
There were more slaves in the Southern states
Slave owners wanted them to count for representation but did not want to pay taxes on them as “property”

7. So, This led to ……
The Three-Fifths Compromise – Every five slaves would count as three people for representation in the House of Representatives

8. Government Power was divided into three branches
Legislative Branch makes the laws
Executive Branch enforces the laws
Judicial Branch interprets the laws based on the Constitution
This provided a system of Checks and Balances so that one branch does not have too much power

9. To ratify or not to ratify?
States debated the Constitution
Georgia was the third state to ratify (or approve) the Constitution
Georgia ratified it quickly because a Bill of Rights was added and the ban on slavery was removed from the document

10. The Framers of the Constitution
James Madison served as note-taker and wrote the Bill of Rights; also known as the “Father of the Constitution”
The “Founding Fathers” worked on the Constitution and Thomas Jefferson was chosen to write it.
The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments in the Constitution

11. One More Interesting Fact…
The capital of Georgia was changed to Louisville in Jefferson County at this time because it was more centrally located to the largest population of people in Georgia

12. Your Turn
1. Use pages in your text book or look online to read the Bill of Rights. Notice the items listed and think about how they reflect their previous experience as English colonists. 2. On the last page of your Graphic Organizer, list neatly a list of 10 rights that ALL staff and students should have here at Fairplay Middle School. Be sure that each right is reasonable and likely to be voted in by the majority of the staff and students here. You will share your work with a peer later.